At Onfit Training College, we believe that supporting mental health awareness and prevention is just as important as building physical strength and fitness. That’s why, for every student who enrols in an accredited course with us, we donate $5 to Mind Blank — helping to fund powerful, storytelling-based mental health programs in schools, workplaces, and communities across Australia.
Thanks to our incredible students, your enrolments have directly contributed to the positive change highlighted in Mind Blank’s 2025 Highlights & Impact Update. Every course started helps open up conversations, reduce stigma, and build a brighter, more mentally healthy future for young Australians.
As we step into a new year, we want to take a moment to reflect on what 2025 meant for MindBlank and the communities we worked alongside.
Last year reinforced something we’ve always believed: prevention matters, and conversations started early can change lives.
Throughout 2025, we delivered theatre-based mental health education across schools, workplaces, and communities. From classrooms navigating peer pressure and cyberbullying, to workplaces opening up conversations around stress and stigma, one message stayed consistent. When people feel safe, supported, and engaged, real learning happens.
Mental health education through storytelling
In early 2025, we were welcomed into Year 7 classrooms to deliver two Cyberbullying Workshops, reaching 300 students. Using interactive theatre, students explored online harm, peer pressure, and decision-making in ways that felt real and relatable.
Students told us they valued how easy the sessions were to understand, how emotions were portrayed by the actors, and how being invited on stage helped them see problems differently. Many left with clear takeaways such as asking for help, not staying quiet, thinking before acting, and remembering that there is more than one possible outcome.
Long-term impact in schools
We continued to reflect on the outcomes of our three-year initiative at Canberra High School & Monto State High School, started in 2023, with evaluation continuing through 2025. Post-program data showed encouraging trends, including increased comfort discussing mental health in everyday conversations and a reduction in the number of students unsure where to seek help.
Medium-term indicators also showed gradual improvements in reported calmness, happiness, and feeling full of life. While stigma remains a barrier, these findings reinforced our belief that prevention is a long-term commitment worth investing in.
Prevention in action across regions
Between October and November 2025, we partnered with the Constable Care Foundation and Bridges for Community Care to deliver a road safety and mental health education program across three schools in the North and South Burnett region.
Through interactive theatre, 270 students explored real-life scenarios linking emotional pressure, help-seeking behaviour, and safer decision-making. Program resources shared through schools extended the reach to an estimated 810 community members, including parents and caregivers.
Pre- and post-program evaluation using the Theory of Planned Behaviour showed positive shifts in attitudes toward road safety, knowledge about road accidents, and confidence to speak up when something feels unsafe.
Workplaces and community collaboration
In 2025, we also supported workplaces to create environments where mental health could be spoken about openly. Sessions with teams, including collaborations with organisations such as OnFit, focused on reducing stigma and encouraging early conversations around stress and wellbeing.
Lived experience storytelling and facilitated discussion helped challenge long-held beliefs and gave people permission to start talking, often for the first time.
Contributing to national conversations
We were proud to contribute to sector-wide discussions throughout the year. At the QAMH Connecting for Impact Conference in September 2025, we chaired a panel on Bridging the Gap: Reimagining Support for Disengaged Young People, highlighting the need to address systemic gaps and centre lived experience.
At the QUT Mental Health Conference, our research team shared findings from a systematic literature review and meta-analysis on the impact of theatre interventions on mental health, with results now progressing through peer review.
We also joined Together for Humanity Foundation at the National Youth Summit at Queensland Parliament House, using storytelling to help young people explore identity, bias, online harm, and mental health in a safe, facilitated way.
Gratitude and looking forward
None of this work happens in isolation. We are deeply grateful to the schools, workplaces, community organisations, and partners who walked alongside us in 2025, including Canberra High School, schools across the North and South Burnett, Constable Care Foundation, Bridges for Community Care, Onfit Training College, TeamHEALTH, and many others.
As we move into 2026, we carry forward everything 2025 taught us. Mental health education does not have to be heavy to be meaningful. Stories build empathy. Prevention works best when it is human, engaging, and grounded in real experience.
Thank you for being part of this journey. We look forward to continuing the work together.
💙 A heartfelt thank you to all our students — your enrolments make this impact possible. Together, we’re helping create a stronger, healthier, and more connected community.